


white tee

by YogSoThots



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Alcohol, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Background Poly, Comedy of Errors, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone is over 21, F/F, F/M, House Party, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Out, Marijuana, Masaru | Victor and Yuuri | Gloria are Twins, Multi, Mutual Masturbation, Nausea triggers, Older Hop (Pokemon), Oral Sex, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Semi-Public Sex, Sensory Hell, Smoking, Social Anxiety, Vaginal Fingering, Walking In On Someone, ages mathed out weird, doesn't affect anything though, new look new hop, secondhand embarrasment, victor is the twin that won
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:47:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27654329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YogSoThots/pseuds/YogSoThots
Summary: It's Hop's first drinking party at Leon and Raihan's place and tonight's gonna be the night he finally wows Marnie with a whole new aesthetic. That is, unless he decides to escape out the window first.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan/Nezu | Piers, Hop/Mary | Marnie, Rurina | Nessa/Sonia
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	white tee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Haunt_Haunt_Haunt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haunt_Haunt_Haunt/gifts).



> Haunt wants spicy Marnie/Hop, Haunt gets spicy Mop. Or Hornie. I'm not sure which portmanteau would embarrass Hop less.

Now that he was old enough, Lee finally invited Hop to one of the legendary house parties they threw at he and Rai's Hammerlocke estate. 

Blinded by the allure of all this stuff he'd only ever read about (and finally being cool enough, if he was honest), Hop made a plan to hit the boutique for something a bit more spiffy than his usual jacket and trackies, and hit the liquor store for a host offering. Working for Sonia paid and was fulfilling, but it wasn't exactly glamorous, and as much as he wanted to be cool, Hop was just shit at parties. Even as a kid, he'd sat in birthday cake at the twins' eleventh, gotten a bloody nose that gave his grandmother a fright at her sixty-third, and as recently as Bea's twenty-fifth only a year ago, he'd eaten a deviled egg that had been left out and gotten ill. But this time would be different--it wasn't a usual sort of party, so maybe Hop's usual luck wouldn't prevail.

Even though he was a former champ, Lee still had the sponsorships and commercial deals and the whole lifestyle that went with that, and now Hop's friend Victor would also be in that life, and very likely at that same party tonight, so it's not like he was going into this friendless and alone, either. He texted her from the dressing room--Glo would be honest about his bold new look. A tight black V-neck and darkwash jeans with actual tailoring? Might not be bold for some, but he felt more like a rock star than a research assistant and that was the point.

NExcelcesDeo: nice ass, i'd 100% go with it either way but do you even know if she's coming?  
GrandTheftWooloo: she has to be, they let you in didt they? but fr it's a gym and champ thing so ynaut  
NExcelcesDeo: hardy har har, how fun it is to laugh. ok gotta go. youve gotta get ready too bud  
GrandTheftWooloo: kk! more like theyve gotta get ready for ME  
NExcelcesDeo: i fucking love it, love the confidence, she's gonna marry you for sure, dont forget the ring, BYEEEE

He tucked the RoPhone back in his pocket and got back in his own clothes. "She" was his dream girl, the girl all the bad guys want, Team Yell Belle, Spikemuth's Gym Leader Marnie, and his horrible, painful crush of well over five years now. Glo knew this, and tormented Hop whenever she could. Hop always fell for the Taunt. 

Not this time, though. He was determined that maybe tonight would be the night when he finally told her. Not only could he be social, he would even talk to a girl. Hopefully she'd like the new duds.

He opted to take his stuff home rather than wear it out. He was still a bundle of nerves and trying to untwist each and every one until he was chill enough to hang out with these people. The V dipped a bit more than he was comfortable with, showing some skin and a tiny bit of hair, but Glo assured him when they'd fooled around briefly post-challenge that he had nothing to worry about. If Marnie had a type, nobody knew it--she had been single the entire time he'd known her, and deflected hard in interviews. To be fair, most of the gym leaders did. After everything that happened with Rose and Lee over the years, they preferred to keep their private lives just that--with a few notable exceptions. But Hop was firmly in the "private" camp. Especially since he didn't know whether or not he'd just made a very expensive fool of himself. 

In the liquor store, everything looked the same but different. He didn't drink hard liquor at all, only ever beer with dinner and berry cocktails on special occasions, and he really wasn't sure what he was getting into. Luckily for him, Glo was a champion drinker by now.

NExcelcesDeo: did he say anything about what to bring, like food or  
NExcelcesDeo: sometimes the food is a clue to what kind of event ergo what kind of liquor to bring  
GrandTheftWooloo: you should write a book  
NExcelcesDeo: i really should

"Yeah, no, we're having a cookout and bit of a drinking thing at our place. I'd like you to come if you're able!" Lee had said, smiling and touching his arm. A week ago, Lee had gotten in from touring another region and came by the family home on the way to his own and issued the invitation. Hop had said sure right away, not even thinking of things like attire or food, or whether or not it was gonna be like the tabloids said it was. He'd always taken that stuff with a grain of salt until he broke down and asked the next day before Lee got on the road again--and to his surprise, he looked away from Hop's eyes and rubbed his neck awkwardly before sighing in what looked like embarrassed resignation, but Hop couldn't be sure.

"Look, don't talk to Mum or the grands about it, but yeah, sometimes we get a bit...rowdy. You know Rai likes to smoke and all, which is no big deal, but sometimes people bring...Other Things," he said quietly. Hop didn't ask further for fear of looking like a loser who didn't know anything, but he wasn't sure what all that meant. It definitely meant he'd have to do a bit better than the Settlers Of Sinnoh board game and curry fries he'd planned on bringing though, that's for sure.

He'd been thinking of this and tooling around the aisles, looking at labels, trying to figure out what would taste okay with Raihan's usual tepig and pinap juice glaze, and settled on rum--wasn't it made of cane sugar and pinap?

GrandTheftWooloo: ok do i want the pirate, the lunala, or the tentacruel sort rum? they're all gold water to me  
NExcelcesDeo: oh def the tentacruel, see if they've got spiced  
NexcelcesDeo: also got confirm that she's coming!! smarten up, maybe get a haircut, don't throw away your shot  
GrandTheftWooloo: wait are you serious is it that bad

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, already knowing it was that bad and he couldn't put it off anymore. When you spend all day with books and not other people, you let this stuff go sometimes. He grabbed two bottles of the right stuff and rang it up, grabbing a case of Yampers Lager at the last second in case there wasn't anything softer than whisky there. He'd have to book it if he wanted to get everything done and also have some time to decompress before leaving on the train for Lee's. They had to be making bank to be able to do this as often as they did. He texted Glo right up until he got home, greeting his family and dealing with "oh but your hair!" and going straight up to wash. 

The sun set and it was time to head to the train station.

On the ride there, Hop tried to calm his nerves. This was something he'd wanted since he was a kid. The clothes, the girls, the food...all of it looked so fun and Lee looked like he was having the time of his life. And that was just the stuff they could show--this would be a look into the secret fun stuff not even Rose knew about. Stuff that Rose would spontaneously combust over if he knew, really.

He kept watching his reflection in the train windows and couldn't get over it. It was different enough that he didn't send Glo a photo when he left the shop, opting to shock her as much as he'd shocked himself when he'd told the barber what he was going for. "Say no more, fam," the guy said, and thirty minutes later, Hop looked like a brand new man. Once he took a detour through the cologne section and abused the hell out of a sample bottle, he also smelled like a brand new man. He shifted the black plastic bag around on his thighs, and couldn't get over the feeling like he was doing something naughty and forbidden even though he was perfectly legal to do everything he'd done so far. He still hadn't made up his mind if he was going to do anything else, though.

The street was clogged with foot and car traffic on the way up to the place and his stomach started a slow, rolling boil all over again. He looked up into the night at the top of the building and saw the soft flashing lights on top and steeled himself and went for it. Feel the fear and do it anyway, right? All he had to do was go up the driveway and go inside. He knew his way around the place and strategized--first drop off the goods and find Lee, then find Glo. From there, he'd wing the rest of it. This ability to size-up quick is what made him a strong trainer and hopefully it'd land him a girlfriend unless he really cocked it up. Which was still possible. But Hop tried very hard to not think about that.

"Sweet, you made it!" Lee pulled him into a crushing hug when Hop found him in the kitchen. He set the bag on the table and clapped his brother on the back. Lee didn't wear his "baseball clown" getup at home, pretty much never leaving soft athletic gear unless he absolutely had to. To be fair, at that point in his career, he could probably still wear a potato sack and people would buy it. "Love the new look. Just time for a change?" For once, Lee just stood back and didn't try to muss Hop's hair. They were nearly the same height now, but it was really more of the complete look that gave the older man pause--and it looked like it passed the Leon Coolness Standard. Raised eyebrows, clicked tongue. Tiny nod. Yes.

"I, uh, wasn't sure what to bring, but here's this, anyway, I thought that..." Hop was interrupted by a stranger coming up and greeting Lee, who on one hand was trying to be polite to them but also was clearly more interested in what Hop had to say. They fucked off, and Hop tried to continue again, only to be interrupted again shortly after. "Look, one sec--Hop, do you want to stay over and catch up? You know where the extras are. I love you, buddy, feel free to go in my room if you need a minute, I kinda have to play host." Hop took two of the Yampers out of the six-pack and weaved his way from the kitchen to the packed sitting room and dining room. The music was good, it didn't look like anything too bad was going on. Hop didn't need Lee, he thought. He'd probably find someone he knew, chill with them until he saw Marnie, bring her this other beer, and Bob's-Your-Uncle, night off to a good start. He had this entirely sorted. 

"Shit!"

Something cold and wet spread across his back and Hop jerked around to see what on earth had just happened when a girl in a Unovan trucker hat lost her balance and sloshed her entire drink on Hop from behind. It was a brand new horrible feeling, like peeing your pants in reverse, and in front of your friends and colleagues. She slurred apologies and tried to pat at it with a napkin but Hop had already Not Planned For This and now looked stupid through no fault of his own, and was desperately trying to regain his composure while also making the girl just go away, anywhere that was far away from him. Cold, sticky mess soaked right through the shirt and was starting to drip fully into his pants ON HIS GOOD UNDERPANTS and everything was suddenly Too Much. The bass thumped in his head and it made hearing her hard, so this was a more protracted endeavor than it should have been. She also kept hitting on him, and she was closer to Lee's age than his.

"No, please, it's fine! I'm sorry," he said, trying to reach his own back and see just how bad it was. The sickeningly sweet odor of artificial wacan berry clashed with his Acqua Castelia and he truly hoped he didn't smell like a brisk spring rain in a candy store. The girl finally moved on, but he was stuck there with people passing him, pondering the irony of him apologizing to the girl who spilled stuff on him. But, he reasoned, it was on his back at least? So people couldn't see it? No, that wouldn't work. He needed to get the smell gone or else it was gonna make him sick. The room spun a little and he struggled to keep it together. It was already so hot in there and the wall-to-wall bodies made it so humid, it was only a matter of time before he reeked like a summertime trubbish. Everything had been fine and just like that, his entire strategy was bin-worthy. Time to come up with a new plan.

Lee had two bathrooms, one on each floor, and Hop knew where they were. New plan: find bathroom, wash shirt, put back on damp but at least not smelly? It wasn't perfect, but it was better than what he had, so it'd have to do.

Hop went back through the house. On the way, he waved to his boss' girlfriend Nessa from across the room, where she was leaning on a counter and talking with her hands to someone he recognized from the cover of Trainers Elite Magazine. She didn't look at him weird or pretend to not know him, so clearly nobody had noticed the snafu and he could still pull off being cool. He allowed a tiny bit of hope into the back of his mind. His face fell when he saw a light on under the door but he jiggled the handle anyway; it was locked. And nobody said anything when he jostled the handle, so they were probably using a mirror, but not the bathroom. Now getting annoyed as well as overheated and trying to not spiral again, he pushed through to the stairs to try this in the other bathroom.

He'd made it up two of the stairs when his heart fell through his stomach into the floor. He'd thought he heard someone say his name. Probably not, there were a lot of people here. He was the least famous person here, anyway. Probably not him. 

"Hop?"

He turned and there she was, looking a little tired in the eyes, but still stunning in a pale pink sundress with black lace. Hop didn't have the time he wanted to see all of her at once, he was still super aware of the gross wet spot that definitely wasn't getting any drier. He avoided looking in her eyes, at her choker, down her neckline...and settled on a spot of floor near her cute stompy platform boots.

"Hey! Marnie! I haven't seen you in a dubwool's age!" Hop cringed at himself but kept going. "Uh, hi, how are things?" He hesitated on the stairs and tried to not die inside.

"I'm trying to find Piers, but do you want to like...talk in a sec? Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first!" she half-yelled, gesturing with her RoPhone at herself. "I can come right back here?"

"No, yeah, go do that, I'm just trying to find the loos," he waved, remembering the drink in his hands. "Do you, uh..." He held it out. "Beer?"

"Oh," she said, taken aback but trying really hard to not show it. She kept a mostly neutral face, but he paid enough attention to it to know a cringe when he saw one. "Uh, thanks, but I've just got to do this thing, see you in a bit?"  
She waved quickly and ducked into some strangers that were passing through.

And just like that, she was gone and he was looking like an ass on the stairs, holding two beers. Bathroom beers. As you do.

Hop tried to not beat himself up too bad about it, but that had gone the exact opposite of how he'd planned and he was painfully aware of it. The whole short night had already gone that way. He debated sneaking out, doing a runner, just leaving it behind and telling Lee that he'd wasn't feeling well later. What did Glo call it, a Postwick Parting Glass? Slam a beer and then out the window?

What was he even doing here? He knew he was shit at parties, that was probably why they'd waited so long to invite him in the first place. Each step he lost more confidence and by the top, Hop was pretty sure he could just cut his losses, forget this happened, and try to meet somebody at the library or something. Or a home for terminally socially impaired persons, if such a place existed. He was certain that not only was it real, but he would definitely be sent to it after tonight. The upstairs bathroom was unoccupied, so he locked himself in and worked on unclenching his jaw and fixing the shirt problem. If that sorted itself, he'd consider staying. Maybe. He pulled out his RoPhone and tried to text Glo. If anyone knew how to get him back on the right track, it was her.

The music thumped through the walls and floor. This was the bathroom that they actually used, so there was more clutter, but the Barbasol and Old Spice Kyogre Glacier scent reminded Hop so much of home that his chest hurt for just a second and he wished he hadn't set out to do this tonight. He could still be safe in his own room, playing PokeCrossing on the Switch. But no, he had to go be a big shot with a girlfriend at a house party.

He shucked off the shirt and examined the damage--it wasn't too bad, he could run it under the tap and wring it out, borrow a spritz of something in the cabinet, probably be almost as good as new. But he'd have to get under the arms too, and he couldn't blame that on a fruity drink. As he scrubbed, he pep-talked the Hop in the mirror--this night was salvageable still, even if he hadn't thought to like, bring another shirt or another personality altogether. Lee would still love him if he was tragically unhip and still give him the shirt off his back.

Hey, couldn't he just borrow a shirt from Lee? He'd said to just go in his room, right? It was a perfect solution, it would be like nothing even happened, then he could maybe give the whole being social thing another go. He smacked himself for not thinking of it sooner. Glo hadn't even seen the message yet, but he was fine now. She didn't have to bail him out this time. All he had to do was improvise, adapt, and he could overcome this. He wadded the old shirt up and used it to pop the top off one of the Yampers--might as well start catching up if he was going to stay after all. He just left the other one by the sink. Later in the night someone could be blessed by the beer fairy and maybe it would make their night better than his had been.

There were four rooms up here: that bathroom, an office, the guest room, and Lee and Rai's room. When people came over, they penned up the pokemon who didn't care to be in balls at home in the office so that nobody got nervous around all the strange humans and none of the drunk and high humans got any stupid ideas. He couldn't remember which door was which otherwise, though, he'd only been up here a couple times and those were when the house was empty. He tapped his knuckles on the door frame and hearing nothing, he cracked the door. Lee's old four-poster king bed was in here but all the bookcases were empty and there were a couple cardboard boxes just sitting out, so this wasn't the one. He closed it properly and moved on. Before he could knock on the second door, he heard someone on the other side.

Hop strained to listen in. The last thing he wanted was to ruin someone else's night trying to fix his own. That definitely wasn't Leon, who else would be in their--  
That was another man moaning, and even worse, Hop knew exactly who it was and a pretty good idea of what was being done to him.  
Hop threw his hands over his mouth to keep from letting anything loose. This night could not possibly get worse.

"--hnff fuck, Rai, I'm gonna--"

Well, that would be why Marnie couldn't find Piers.  
Hop's head spun, trying to figure this one out, as those two got on about as well as a meowth and creekwater and everybody knew that Piers didn't care about sex and Raihan very much did, and was this the only time this has ever happened?  
Wait, hold up, did Lee know about this?  
This situation ran the gamut from weirdly arousing to hilarious to gross to terrifying to infuriating, then settling on bad, but still mixed reservation. Hop desperately wished he'd chosen PokeCrossing.

He was stuck fast to the spot, unsure of what to do. Obviously let them finish. But about his shirt problem. And the new, even worse problem that might just torpedo the whole night: a weird hard-on in tight jeans.  
After a bit he heard what was yep, definitely Raihan ("smile for rotom, you gorgeous, depraved bitch!"), he knocked way harder than he planned. He winced and waited for the response, trying to pokerface as hard as he could despite knowing the mad scramble for clothes, blankets, and leaky condoms that was happening on the other side.

"Er, can you just throw me a t-shirt? Thanks in advance," Hop almost let a snort loose.

"No, yeah, mate, you got it. Hello! Glad you've come," he rambled, opening drawers. Hop covered his face and stomped a little, fighting so hard to keep it together. He really, really needed a laugh after this or he'd explode. "Right, buddy, I've got one of Lee's old ones, hope it fits, right then--" a damp hand shoved it at Hop through a cracked door. "--catch you in a while, mate, I'm bit occupado, and--"  
Hop put it on right then and there and went right back to the guest room. As fantastic as he was sure the explanation would be, he'd rather not crack up in the middle of it. That, and Glo should probably at least know this much happened. 

NExcelcesDeo: running late, vic in a meetn in town and mum took a tumble on the ladder, shes ok, just a bruise  
NExcelcesDeo: hop whats going on  
NExcelcesDeo: buddy you still there, im worried  
NExcelcesDeo: HOP WHAT THE HELL  
NExcelcesDeo: DONT GET MARRIED WITHOUT ME I WANNA SEE MARNIES DRESS

He shoved the phone back into his pocket. Well, she'd get here at some point. Whether it was before or after he cut and run, though, was uncertain. He was entertaining those thoughts again.

He flopped on the bed and hung his legs over the side. It was so tall he didn't touch the floor. He felt the sad buzz that came from rarely drinking already fading. Maybe if he hid in here, people would think he never left and he could still score cred without having to actually participate further. How did Leon do this every other weekend for years at a time? Arceus' pants, was Victor gonna turn out like this too? He felt the beginnings of a post-anxiety headache coming on and slapped the dimmer switch by the bed to "off". It helped the pressure, but not the new, rising anxiety tide.

Hop didn't have much time to envision Vic's terrible future as Champion, somebody came right in without even knocking. He shot upright, unsure who would be close enough that they'd feel okay doing this, or if this was a total stranger coming to rob the place. He reached for a pokeball on a belt that wasn't there and the panic rose all the way to terror. The person was breathing a bit ragged like they'd really scooted to get here, but he still couldn't make them out in the dark. He willed his eyes to adjust and pick up any detail that might reassure him he wasn't going to be killed by a robber to top off the night.

The blue light of a RoPhone screen blinked to life and illuminated the glint of metal on a necklace and Hop knew then who was in here. Since the earth wasn't going to just swallow him up and reclaim him, he decided to just go ahead and tank the night all on his own.

"Hey, Marn" he said, raising up on his elbows and watching for the few seconds she wouldn't know he was there.

"Oh! Fuck! I'm sorry, I thought...I can go," she said. The blue light flickered and turned as she moved the RoPhone.

"No, no, trust me. The alternative is way worse," Hop chuckled.

"Fair enough. I hadn't gotten dressed up and all to see my brother naked with one of the hosts, that was what was behind door number two."

"Neither had I," said Hop, more to himself than anything. "Wanna turn the light on?"

"Honestly, not really. I came in here to get away from the light for a bit. I'm used to the noise but there's more people than last time and they didn't do the low-light thing this time."

Wait, had Marnie seriously been to Leon's parties before he had? Just what was he playing at here, picking Hop last at kickball? Surely not. 

"Anyway, Piers was my ride but it looks like he's now Raihan's. So I'm just sort of laying low until it's time to head out. I didn't know they did this, and frankly, my life was simpler then." 

Hop was relieved the lights were off, that was the final straw. He fucking cracked up completely and couldn't stop. It really did feel better to have the lights off, not just for his head, but he felt like it didn't matter if he did a stupid face while he laughed. Or you know, just had a stupid face in general. To his surprise, Marnie busted up right with him.

"Right? Nor did I, some lady dropped her drink on me and all I came for was a shirt. Imagine my surprise, right?"

"You didn't!" Marnie squeaked and tried to taper off the laughs.

"No, I didn't go in. But I did knock and heard the scuttling."

They both took a minute to slow their breathing and stop the laughing peals. Hop didn't dare convince himself he regained control of the situation. 

"These things can be fun," she said. "I'm usually Piers' 'date'. But normally, there's not as much drugs or people. Bit odd. Also a bunch that don't sound like they're from Galar."

"The one who ran into me had this super-thick Unovan thing going on! Like, 'ohe, ahm so sawry' or something. Weird as hell," Hop said.

He really didn't want to Curse it, but this was going great. Like, better than he planned and definitely better than bathroom beer thing earlier.

"Wanna just sit in the dark and judge the people out there on our phones and have our own mean, blanket fort party?" Hop watched her blink and search for him in the dark until her light turned off again.

"Sounds good. I'm up here and there's a dimmer switch if you do end up needing to see."

Marnie used her phone's light to guide her over to the bed and plopped down next to Hop, their knees almost touching. He definitely was not hyper-aware of that, nope. But even better, it seemed that the dark was keeping the nerves at a manageable level. She removed her mini backpack and rustled around in it. "Mind if I smoke?" she said.

"Oh," he hesitated. "Lee doesn't typically like the chemicals from them things in the walls. You can't get the smell out, so I can open the window, maybe?" Hop got up and went to go do just that.

"No, no, not regulars. I plan to get thoroughly zooted if I'm going to be hiding from people having a good time. If it bothers you of course I won't," she said. Hop paused in front of the light switch.

"Hey, I need just a bit of light to see what we're doing. Is that okay?"

She said yes, he tapped the switch to "barely on", and wished he hadn't. Marnie was sitting on the very edge next to the indentation in the memory foam where he'd been before, scalloped skirt sitting just high enough to show how soft and smooth those legs were, head tilted. Hop had dreamed about this exact thing many times, but now that it was actually happening, he was gobsmacked. His blood pressure tanked and he tried to stand in a way that would hide his "true feelings". Hop had smoked before--it was hard not to with the stress of challenge life--but it was expensive and he wasn't really cool enough to know a consistent supplier and he really, really didn't want to ask Lee to do that for him. Marnie apparently had too, as she was working on getting a cartridge loose from plastic packaging rather than clumsily trying to roll her own zoot as Hop had done. He unclipped his pocket knife and handed it to her backwards. She took it and made fast work of the thing, screwing it into a beat-up pink vape and returning his knife the same way. It stank like lemonade and mixed berry cereal and between that and her...what, girl-smell? What was that, vanilla, juicy mago berry, gardenia, seawater? Hop thought he might already be high. 

"This stuff is right peng," she said, fiddling with the buttons on the thing to get it up to temperature. "Piers doesn't care. He just wants me to be safe. Honestly, I feel much better about having a toke and a giggle up here with you rather than trying to pose down there, you know?" Marnie gave him a warm secret smile and Hop's knees went weak. She said she felt safe up here with him. Wasn't that what Lee had told him that girls wanted in a man? Was this the right time? 

While Hop tortured himself mentally, Marnie took the first hit. She wrinkled her nose and held it in for a bit, then blew it out in a soft mist. The berry flavour was even stronger on the exhale and there was just something about the way her lips moved, smeared the sugar-pink gloss on the mouthpiece just a little. Hop wasn't just hard at this point, he ached. And at some point, he was going to have to either sit back down or jump out the open window. Both options were starting to sound equally good again. Marnie pointed the vape at Hop and shrugged. Time to be Mr. Big Shot Drugs And Girlfriend.

Hop understood immediately why people did this. This stuff tasted leaps and bounds better than the old stunky he'd been using out in the Wild Area, it was like floor cleaner and the entire gummy section of the pokemart had a baby, but it also stung the back of your throat like a giga-drain straight to the tonsils. It all happened so fast, there was nothing he could do. Hop went into a coughing fit, complete with watery eyes and squeaking. He was forced to sit, but his entire body was more focused on not choking to death to bother being aroused right then. Marnie flapped her hands, uncertain but wanting to help. "'Erceas, Hop, you good? In through the nose, out through the mouth!" As obvious as it sounds, Hop hadn't tried to purposefully regulate that, and it calmed the fit down quickly. He did get it in his lungs, though, they burned like heck, and the taste still lingered on his tongue. He wondered if this is what her skin tasted like and then mentally swatted himself in the back of the head. He didn't know if he'd placebo'd himself or not, but the hit felt almost immediate--the yanking upwards of his spirit didn't waste any time, he thought. His anxiety melted down--he could vividly imagine it as sugary pink cocktail slushie running down him and then leaving nothing but clean clothes. He touched the tip of his tongue to the corner of his mouth--some of the gloss transferred from the mouthpiece. Liechi berry. 

"Marnie, I..." He turned his body to her but still couldn't look her in the face. He could feel the battle inside him, anxiety and peace going hard and heavy, but the odds had tipped in his favour. Hop's mouth engaged before his brain could and it was too late now.

"I know it's been a while since we've hung out, but like, I want to do that more. A lot. Often."

"Do what?"

Everything had slowed down around Hop, which gave him time to think, but also made him hyper-aware of everything. He'd sat a couple inches over from his memory-foam ghost, deliberately touching her, and it felt too bold. She made no move to change that, but seemed to settle into it. He looked away from her legs, desperately seeking an interesting spot on the floor again. Hop heard the unmistakable thump of Radioactive's bass and couldn't help but think that he was going to confess his love to his future wife to an Imagine Dragons song at a drinking party at his brother's house.

"Well, I mean, we should..." he started, unsure if this was a can't-hear or can't-understand sort of issue.

As he fumbled, Marnie stashed her phone and smoothed her skirt.

"Hop? I want to ask you something, but I'm...kind of afraid?"

"You can ask me anything," he said. "I mean, I'm rather private on some things, what with Lee's job and all, but I'm sure you..."

"Can I kiss you?"

Even though he said he'd never do it again, Hop gave an important question zero thought and just breathed "yes".

Marnie touched the side of his face and closed the gap--her lipgloss was slick and not sticky, he observed, and her lips and tongue and everything about her was soft and sweet and pink. She didn't object when he pressed to keep going, and he just knew he was going to have soft electric pink streaks across his chin but it was fucking worth it. He didn't know what to do with his hands and didn't want to break the immersion by peeking to see, so he closed his hand over hers and slid his hand down her arm. It raised the fine hairs on her arms, something that can't just be faked, he thought. The shiver followed up to her neck and made her pause, mouth just open. Hop normally didn't feel anything close to whatever this was--he was indifferent to sex with Glo, it was a relief to learn what he was doing without binning a perfectly good relationship like some of his peers had done. But right here, right now, he wanted these things. Everything. As long as it was her, as long as she was willing.

It was a good time to take a breather and make sure he hadn't actually just died and this is what the hereafter was like for him.

"I'm...I've wanted to do that a while," she said. "But you're always with the twins, or Leon, or training, or..."

"Marnie, I did this for you," Hop said, taking her hand and placing on the back of his head. The buzzed texture back there was so nice, he couldn't stop touching it himself when he got home. "We hadn't seen each other in a bit, you're always at work or on the news and all. I wanted to tell you--I don't know what, actually, I hadn't planned that far." He paused as she played with his hair. "But I'm glad you went first."

She hid her face and giggled. Hop laughed too and finally felt the tension he'd been holding in his back since he sat down start to loosen up. That kiss melted his jaw like butter. And then it hit him--there was very little he could say or do to truly mess up this moment with her. And knowing that, he finally just evolved and did it.

"You're lovely. Really. Your life's been so hard, you and Piers, and I know what it's like to be where you are. Except you were good enough and I wasn't. I'm not good enough, but I want to be with you anyway."

"Gobshite!" Marnie said. "You're plenty good! Leon has had many advantages you didn't, and I don't just say those things. We were rivals too, remember?"

For just a second, Hop wasn't thinking about Marnie--she'd brought up something that he'd never known how to talk about, how to name. That it wasn't that Lee was so much better--though he did work his ass off to get there--Lee had full restores. Lee had the facilities to practice dyanmaxing and access to all the best gyms and food and pokemon training. So as much as they tried to fight like equals, they never truly were, and that was fine. He'd made peace with it and decided to follow his curiousity with Sonia and her research as far as it would go, that's how he ended up here in the first place. And she was right--he loved to fight her. Unlike Bede, who back then was just hurting himself and lashing out at others, Marnie was a fierce competitor and a gracious loser (when she did lose). Hop finally figured out how to beat her even though they were an even match--his crew didn't get hangry. As much as it was a strategy for her, it was also a weakness and it affected how long her morpeko in particular could go. She could think on her feet and was used to relying on herself. A great deal like Glo, now that he thought about it.

"You're right. I'm trying to get better at seeing how I am, and not how...I think I am. Thanks. But really--I wanted to ask you out. I didn't know you'd seen me as anything other than a friend and competitor."

She shook her head. 

"I thought it was just a dumb crush," Marnie continued. " But I really respect you as a competitor. And I date who I want--I wanted to tell you tonight because I don't think I could have done it without loosening up first. And, to be quite honest, I didn't set out tonight to pull, but since we're here..." Marnie pursed her lips and shrugged. 

"Wait, really?"

She laughed.

"Yes, Hop, pants of 'Erceus, we've already snogged, I've said I like you, is it truly that much of a shock? You do want to do those things, right? It's totally fine if not, please never feel pressured--"

It was his turn to interrupt a stream of anxiety-thought. He kissed her this time, slow and deliberate, giving her his hands to place where she wanted. Maybe if it looked intentional, he'd be able to figure out better what to do. She placed his hands on her collarbone and slid them down her sides, leaving them in a pool of dress fabric in her lap. He was feeling much more calm and confident now, and whatever they smoked made this arousal feel different. He followed the curves of her legs to the dainty black lace flowers just out of reach, grazed the hem and the line of perfect white thigh right under it, and his eyes watered and he had to suck his lip and swallow. They broke and connected as they needed, but at this point, it felt like she was waiting for Hop to push the envelope. If the envelope were her dress, that is.  
Another inch would be indecent. 

Should he try to pull it up? Slip in under? What's under there, anyway? 

Now he was hard enough that he couldn't ignore it.  
She was leveling her breathing, but the hot flush across her chest and cheeks sold her out. The heat re-activated her perfume and he swooned. She linked her fingers between his and whispered into his neck, "Hop, please, I want this." Recalling the terribly awkward talks he'd had with Lee on the matter, Hop recognized "enthusiastic consent" when he saw it, and decided that this was it. No, there's no running from this. He managed to bungle the shit out of this night and here he was, probably about to buff his dream girl regardless. Time to shine.

Hop slid his hand under her skirt, temporarily distracted by the lace panel that he thought was a slip, turning it around on his fingertips. He worked his way to her inner thigh, and instead of stopping him like he still half-expected, she pulled herself a bit further up on the bed and opened her legs. 

"I ain't got anything on me, like I said, didn't think I'd be having a go tonight," she said. "So I suppose that's going to disappoint you a bit."

"Nah," he said. "I mean, doing it like that is good and all, but I seem to...uh, do better using my hands."

"Do you mind--do you want to? I...that sounds great."

Hop nodded and got to work.

He rolled her skirt up just far enough to see what he was doing and peeled down her mesh and lace knickers, a tiny, strappy affair that was slippery and wet where it rested against her. He was amazed that he had this kind of effect--did she really think this was that good? She had thin, dark hair in a patch that only just obscured what he wanted to see--so he gently parted her and dipped his fingertip down. It came away with a perfectly slick coating that he touched to his tongue to test. Marnie bit her lip watching the scene. She was working a tit free from the bodice, slipping her shoulder right out of the strap like she'd done it a thousand times. Hop couldn't help but think this would be easier if they were naked, but then again, the thought of having someone come up on him like he had Rai and Piers was mortifying. The noise downstairs showed no signs of stopping, though, so he felt secure that they had plenty of time to fool around.

"Can you show me what you do?" He asked, remembering how he'd learned to do this with Glo. It would skip a lot of awkwardness if he just knew what she liked and could work from there.

Marnie hesitated. Nobody had ever asked her what she did when she was alone with herself, and it was a bit embarrassing, but she could probably do it if she could avoid looking him in the face. She took his hand again and a deep breath. He watched her physically relax on the exhale as she curled her middle finger in the groove where it fit, circling slowly just as he'd seen Glo do to herself, but then sliding down a bit more and twisting only the first knuckle inside herself, more fluid leaking, as her breath hitched. She used her free hand to open herself up, the whole time touching herself lighter than air, and Hop wasn't sure how she could feel anything, nevermind be this kind of aroused from it. She was barely even sliding in--and at some point, his cock was supposed to fit in there somehow. Marnie, on the other hand, was lost in the moment. How many nights off in the Wild Area in her tent had she touched herself just like this, wishing it were Hop's hands? She stopped and moved out of his way, hoping it was enough that he'd figure it out. She didn't want to have done all this just to have accidentally gotten herself off in the middle of doing things with him. 

Hop could work with this, though. He knew different people were into different things. And starting out, he did just as she did--but his own curiosity won out. That one taste wasn't enough. She sighed and pulled her knees up, giving him better room to maneuver. This was something he'd practiced enough to know he was good at, he just hoped it would work this particular time, considering the rest of the night. 

Glo showed him the things to look for--unfocused, blown eyes, slack jaw, constant swallowing, the tell-tale flush--and to see those things happening to Marnie was almost too much. Time to go for the faint: massage and stretch that back wall of hers with his fingertips until she opens easily and makes these irresistable soft sounds. Move closer, drag his tongue all the way up where his fingers had been, lick up-not-down until she's a sopping mess and squirming, and right as she's on the edge, slow everything to a crawl and fill her to the brim, this time with fingers, but--he couldn't finish the thought. She was too soft and everything good and he wasn't ready for this to be over. He'd been trying to ignore the steady throb in his jeans and for the most part, seeing to her made it easy, but it was starting to wear on him. His tip started leaking a while back and it was getting kind of sticky in there, but he wanted to do this first--and more than once if he could get away with it. He'd been concentrating on step two for who knows how long, finding out he could lead her right to the edge and stop, easing off, and she would beg him to come back and finish. After like three times, he figured that was enough messing about.  
She came so hard she almost pushed his finger out, fists curled and totally wrecking his new hair. 

When she'd come back from it, Marnie pulled him up to lay beside her and popped the button on his jeans. He nodded and laid back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He whipped off Lee's white tee and mopped his brow with it, thankful he had it to cover his face the first time Marnie got her hands all the way around him. He was certain this was the stupidest face anyone ever made while fucking and it was just better than she missed it. He ended up needing it to gag himself when she'd tormented him with the same playful denial he'd shown her, but he just couldn't keep going. Her eyes went wide--she pulled her hand away and made grabby hands for the shirt that was now a workout towel. He hadn't been able to warn her, but she looked delighted rather than grossed out once she got her hands clean. She rooted around in the sheets for the vape and stretched out flat.

Marnie passed him the vape again, looking up at the ceiling, just laying there processing what happened. Hop already cleaned himself up and tossed the shirt in a corner to be dealt with later.

"You want to stay the night? Lee already offered me and there's plenty of space. I don't think Piers is gonna be able to walk after that."

She laughed and snuck into a space under his arm.

"Yeah. That sounds nice. I didn't bring no clothes or nothing, hope your brother doesn't mind."

Hop got up and started rummaging in the boxes and came back with two misprinted jerseys from Lee's last tour. Marnie kissed his cheek and excused herself to the bathroom right quick to change and rinse. While she was gone, Hop decided to see what all changed in the outside world and make some arrangements.

GrandTheftWooloo: lee i think i'm staying after all, partied a bit too hardie u know. in the guest room.  
TheGr8test: sure thing bud, rai's gonna make breakfast tomorrow too. u need help u good, definitely stay out of our room though, no reason  
GrandTheftWooloo: no no it's ok, just need a lie down is all. thanks for invite, this was a rager, ngihty tho, headache  
TheGr8test: anytime little bro, always glad to have u in our lives, nighty

He closed one chat window to open another.

GrandTheftWooloo: i told her  
NExcelcesDeo: NO WAY WHENS THE DATE I HAVE TO SAVE IT

and left that one at that. Glo could fall for the Taunt this time.

Hop dug through the boxes of old clothes until he put together pants he could sleep in as well. When Marnie came back, they curled into each other and fell into deep, untroubled sleep.

Maybe Hop wasn't as shit at parties as he thought he was.

"Marn? Have you seen my new shirt? I was gonna wear it to the cover shoot," Piers called down the hall. Marnie was in the bathroom trying to put up her hair before she left for the day.

"Which 'un?"

"You know, the new V neck I wore to Leon's thing the other day."

"Nah, have you checked behind the washer? Might have fallen behind the bed or something too. What colour was it?"

"White."

Marnie shook her head. She'd only seen one white tee at that party and was pretty sure it wasn't that one.

**Author's Note:**

> background noise at the party:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fudsUhWAG_o
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvTqknDobU
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=159rjjCC5D8


End file.
